1 nation, 1 identity' is not wrong: Supreme Court
The counsel said: There is nothing to suggest that I am not an Indian if I don't have Aadhaar as long as I have other forms of identity.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that there is nothing wrong in the “one nation-one identity” concept for citizens under the Aadhaar programme.
A five-judge Constitution Bench of Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A.K. Sikri, A.M. Khanwilkar, D.Y. Chandrachud and Ashok Bhushan made this observation after senior counsel Kapil Sibal, appearing for one of the petitioners, attacked the Centre for allegedly branding those who didn’t possess Aadhaar as “anti-national”.
The counsel said: “There is nothing to suggest that I am not an Indian if I don’t have Aadhaar as long as I have other forms of identity.” Mr Bhushan told Mr Sibal that “there is nothing wrong in one nation-one identity”. Mr Sibal countered this by saying in that case there is also nothing wrong in “one-nation-one-religion”. Justice A.K. Sikri told Mr Sibal not to enter into a political argument. The counsel replied that he would prove it was a legal argument. He also said: “You (government) can’t call me a terrorist or anti-national if I don’t have Aadhaar, that is what we are objecting to.” Justice Sikri said: “The presumption under the PMLA law is that if you don’t prove your identity, you are a money-launderer. Mr Sibal said: “It’s the blanket power given to the State which is dangerous.”
